Young volunteers building trails, and résumés at Glacier Park

Montana Conservation Corps members finish up trail maintenance at Glacier Park's Rocky Point Trail. Their work is part of a new Youth Corps Partnership at Glacier.

Credit Katrin Frye

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Flathead Reporter Katrin Frye takes us trailside.

The Glacier Youth Corps Partnership just wrapped up the first of two summers of volunteer work at the Park. Volunteer Coordinator Jessica Kusky with Glacier said the Partnership is an opportunity for the Park to get different projects completed, and for the volunteers to learn about careers in the Park Service. Kusky said the project also aims to connect the next generation with Glacier Park.

“The youth are going to be the stewards of our national parks in the future, and so I believe this is an opportunity for them to get a more intimate look at what we do as park rangers, and gain a better understanding of what the Park Service is responsible for managing,” she said.

Over a 10 week period this past summer volunteers worked on trails, collected data for Glacier’s citizen science projects, native plant restoration, historic structure maintenance, noxious weed control, and backcountry shelter repair. The volunteers were working alongside staff from the Park’s fire management office, maintenance crews, and the Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center.

This first summer was funded through a $55,000 grant from the Glacier National Park Conservancy, and a matching $55,000 grant from the National Park Foundation will fund next summer’s program.

People interested in volunteering can contact Jessica Kusky of Glacier Park at (406) 888-7851, or the Montana Conservation Corps office in Kalispell at (406) 755-3619.